Reflections on Marriage: O is for Optimism
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I grew up in a home with a father who was very optimistic. One of his favorite quotes was from Napoleon Hill, “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
My dad made me memorize this quote when I was a child. I also had to memorize the Dale Carnegie quote, “Act enthusiastic, and you will be enthusiastic!” (My dad would actually say, “If you act enthusiastic, you will be enthusiastic!”)
My mother also influenced my optimistic attitude by her cheerfully saying to me as I left the house to go anywhere, “Have fun!”
The unspoken message was that I was in charge of my life. If I didn’t have a good time, it was my own fault.
I must add that my mother was in bed most of my life with a back injury, which happened when I was six years old. She wasn’t having any fun at all! Yet she still encouraged her children to have an optimistic outlook on life.
Optimism
Optimism
is hopefulness that
inspires unflinching faith
and unwavering willpower
as you cheerfully
persevere with patience
to make all
realistic dreams for
your marriage and
your individual lives
come true someday.
Excerpt from ABC’s for a Happy Marriage:
A Collection of Original Poetry and Biblical Scriptures
One of the most important times to be optimistic is when you get married.There will be many situations in marriage that will cause you and your spouse to feel discouraged. But there is no problem that an optimistic wife and an optimistic husband cannot work out together with the help of the Lord.
I get a lot of strength from the below quote by Gordon B. Hinckley, and I also really like this quote I found on Laura Doyle’s blog:
“Be believing. Be happy. Don’t get discouraged. Things will work out.”
“New love is the brightest, and long love is the greatest, but revived love is the tenderest thing known on earth.”
Cultivating an Attitude of Happiness and a Spirit of Optimism
President Gordon B. Hinckley’s mother, Ada Bitner Hinckley, often said that “a happy attitude and smiling countenance could boost one over almost any misfortune and that every individual was responsible for his own happiness.”
His father, Bryant S. Hinckley, also had an “inherently positive outlook.” President Hinckley recalled, “When I was a young man and was prone to speak critically, my father would say: ‘Cynics do not contribute, skeptics do not create, doubters do not achieve.’”
Influenced by his parents’ counsel and example, young Gordon Hinckley learned to approach life with optimism and faith.